The Pioneer Saga
by ShagsterP
Summary: A planned 26 "episode" original series based on the vague PSO storyline, which takes place before, throughout, and after the fall of Dark Falz, delving into the core of life and religion, surrounded by a mysterious government cover-up and action galore.


((Author's notes: Well, this is my grand story based on Phantasy Star Online.  It's a little different than one might expect, whereas I plan on creating an original work stemming from the game's theme.  What it's not is a glamorization of a personal game character.  Please don't expect that.  In fact, I made it a point to expand the world of PSO in general and make the characters very human in nature.  I hope you enjoy the read and hopefully give a review.  I'd kill for those.  ^_^))

Phantasy Star: The Pioneer Saga

Future's Past

A plan born of desperation, conceived in response to the imminent destruction of their home worlds.

_As plans for the evacuation began, unmanned probes were sent into deep space to find a habitable planet.  When a potential site was discovered, the first interstellar transport ship, Pioneer 1, was sent to establish a colony._

_Pioneer 1 confirmed that the planet Ragol was a suitable location, and the initial colonists started preparing the planet for the main wave of refugees, beginning with the construction of the Central Dome._

_Seven years later..._

_Pioneer 2 completed its long voyage with the main wave of refugees aboard.  But as Pioneer 2 entered orbit and opened a communications link with the Central Dome, an enormous explosion shook the entire planet.  All contact with the thousands of men and women of Pioneer 1 was lost._

Citizen Profile – R382 

Name: Legend (birth name not on public files; stored in Oracle government archives)  
  
Type: Human  
  
Age: 32 human years  
  
Sex: Male  
  
Hair: Green (originally brown)  
  
Eyes: Brown  
  
Occupation: Hunter (ranger class) 

Military Record: Trained from age 18 in use of firearms and close quarters combat under Juno Corps 32nd Division.  Transferred to newly formed United World Corps at age 22 due to expertise in firearms.  Sanctioned to Peace Division at age 24, later sent on peace mission #B42.  Criminal charges ensued.  Subject Legend then sent to Guidan State Penitentiary for Convicted War Criminals.  Subject now serving special terms.  
  
Personal Record: Subject's parents known to have been a part of the Pioneer 1 Project, now presumed missing with the remainder of civilians and officials.  No other known relatives.  Subject Legend served on peace mission #B42, consisting of assassination of large-scale threat to global reconstruction and unification, Darrek Trenting.  Assassination completed successfully with a violation of direct orders from a superior officer, resulting in the death of three fellow soldiers.  Subject Legend is charged with major crimes and sent to previously stated penitentiary, serving an 86-year term.  Subject Legend has served seven years in stated penitentiary, now given a new set of terms.  New terms described as follows, in the words of joint chief of security Richard Thornton:  
  
"Legend will continue to serve under the United World Corporation aboard spacecraft Pioneer 2.  Supervision will be issued by the official Hunters' Guild, of which Legend will follow all orders given as a representative of stated guild.  His presence on the planet of Ragol as a representative for the full amount of time Pioneer 2 remains will result in the dismissal of all previous charges.  Subject Legend's new term is currently being served."  
  
--Joint security chief, Richard Thornton

Episode One: Venomous

Time: 11:17 PM  
  


High rises with multiple crammed rooms littered the city side.  Hover cars zoomed by, the sounds of their passing combining in unison with the echo of life below.  As always, night on Pioneer 2 erupted into its normal state of headache-inducing static existence.  Above it all, one man watched. From the ledge of the skyscraper he could view those less fortunate passing below, those unable to obtain a citizen's license and get themselves a decent home aboard the spacecraft.  He didn't have to worry about all that, though.  Owning a Hunter's license gave him privileges over the normal citizens.  It didn't make his way of life any better, but hell, at least it was living.  
  


Trailing his left hand down the brown trench coat he wore, it dove into one of the deep pockets as his right hand raised a cigarette to his mouth.  Lights from passing cars and law enforcement units enveloped him in short moments and often times cast deep shadows in contradiction.  Even in this man-made city filled with people separated from their planet of origin, law enforcement and order prevailed.  An entire city section brimmed with life as though nothing had ever changed in the first place.  Resources had been transferred in abundance to the project, obtained from many of Earth's nations in their combined effort to make everything a success.  A section of the ship consisted of agricultural development pushed over its own limits.  There was even a weather control center that managed the environmental conditions, keeping the weather realistic as to the specific date on Earth.  Hundreds of brilliant minds had joined the hopeful voyage, contributing to the cause as much as humanly possible.  Pioneer 2 served as a landmark creation; it was a wondrous achievement in technology and served as a filler for the gap between all of mankind.  
  


He hated it.  
  


His left hand rose from his pocket, carrying along with it an old lighter; it served as a souvenir to him, dating back to sometime around the late 21st century.  Striking a flame, the end of the cigarette lit easily and he replaced the lighter into his pocket.  Pulling back a portion of his dark green hair that had fallen forward, he exhaled a release of smoke into the night air.  
  


He never liked to get too comfortable in any situation.  It was inevitable he'd get called in right when he would start to get his mind off of things for once, and this time was no exception.  From inside the trench coat, a small rectangular device emitted a chiming sound.  In no hurry, he allowed himself a few seconds before finally pulling the object from his inside pocket.  He flipped it open and cast his narrowed view at the holo-image portrayed inside, the faded electronic light casting a dulled blue on his face as he read.  Moments later, closing his eyes and wearing a smug grin, he folded the device again and returned it within the coat.  Glancing downward one last time to the carnival of lights and people, he turned and headed for the stairway, tossing his cigarette off the side of the building without so much as looking.  Duty called.

                *              *              *              *              *

Time: 4:36 PM (the next day)  
  


"So is Legend really your name?"  
  


"You could say that..."  
  


He wasn't exactly in the mood for conversation, especially not in the middle of their current situation.  In the midst of green foliage, Legend, along with three other soldiers also signed to the mission, stalked through the jungle area on the planet of Ragol.  He held a photon rifle closely to his face, keeping the barrel pointed forward at all times.  
  


"Tell me something.  Why would it take a team of three soldiers and a ranger like me to bring in one man?"  
  


The soldier next to him retorted in the same quiet manner.  "Don't know for sure.  Heard he's one dangerous son of a bitch, though.  Out of his mind, too."  
  


Legend grunted.  That was all he needed to know.  He could care less what the mission was about, having had no choice in the matter from the beginning, anyhow.  It was still an odd decision by the Guild to have a Hunter accompanying a squad of Pioneer soldiers who already knew how to do their jobs.  
  


"All right, we've reached the rendezvous point.  Everyone regroup," the lead soldier stated aloud.  
  


Legend hated this.  It felt like his earlier military days, a part of his life he'd rather forget.  He disliked working in a team and taking commands.  The leader continued to divulge his orders, having each person split up and head in a separate direction.  Legend enthusiastically obeyed, leaving the rest of the team to their duty as he followed his own.  This was more like it.  It was shoot to kill, and that's what he did best.  Weaving through the forest maze, rifle raised forward in its ready position, he focused on keeping his senses alert.  It wasn't simply one man that served as a threat on this planet.  The bizarre wildlife also seemed fueled by one initiative: to kill any intruders.  It was just mankind's luck that the most suitable planet to colonize was also the most life threatening.  
  


As he continued onward in his search he replayed the mission's briefings in his mind.  The target they were after was a prisoner of the Guidan State Penitentiary for Convicted War Criminals; it was the same penitentiary that Legend, himself, had spent seven years of his life in.  The guild refused to give him a name, referring to the target only as Hyperon.  They also refrained to explain how this Hyperon smuggled his way onto Pioneer 2, although the act of smuggling wasn't a very big secret.  But target Hyperon couldn't simply become a normal citizen.  No, the detonation device implanted in his back denied him that life.  Now he was just a time bomb ready to blow.  Tampering with the device would only trigger instant obliteration.  The man had no choice, yet he still decided on running.  What a fool.  
  


"Snakes are always hidden in the grass, waiting to strike."  
  


Legend's eyes widened.  The familiar statement came from a short distance behind him and he instinctively swung himself behind a tree as a hail of photon shots singed the bark.  When he had the chance, he swung around the opposite direction and returned fire in the direction of the shots, but the attacker had already taken off into the forest.  Legend did the same, following Hyperon's trail as best he could.  However, he couldn't help but feel a bit distracted.  The last time he heard that sentence uttered he had nearly been killed, and it led to an unexpected tragedy.  How could...  
  


A scream.  He could hear it to his right, over the small open hill.  Picking up more speed, his rifle held against his chest, he hurried to the scene; and what a scene it was.  Hyperon stood over a near naked soldier, dressed in his victim's clothing.  
  


"Stay there, or I'll decide which limb you won't ever be using again." Legend stood atop the hill, aiming his rifle steadily down on the target.  His threat held true.  He knew most of the areas on a human being to shoot in order to rend certain appendages useless.  "Turn around."  
  


"Is that any way to say hello to an old war buddy?" The man slowly faced him with his hands above his head.  
  


Legend remarked him in a tone devoid of surprise.  Albeit, it was unexpected, but that would hardly be enough for him to lose focus.  "How many times do I have to kill you, Devan?  You better stay dead this time."  
  


"Sorry boss, can't do that.  Still got one little priority before it's my time to leave.  And I'll only have one chance at it, so I'm going to get it right.  Fortunately for me, this isn't the time."  
  


The shot came out of nowhere.  Legend never saw a weapon on his enemy, but he had to drop to his back in order to dodge the attack.  He sat up enraged.  "I'll take your head off!" Intent to follow through with the threat, he raised the rifle and aimed as quickly as he could.  But Hyperon, now confirmed as Devan, stood in the midst of a telepipe's circular pattern, apparently having found it in the possession of the ambushed soldier.  Wasting no time, Legend took his shot and watched as the photon bullet passed through the fading image of its target.  
  


Slamming his fist into the ground, he knew Devan had planned this all along.  The two other soldiers of the team caught up to witness the scene, hurriedly asking questions.  Legend explained the situation and was promptly given instructions to return to the guild, that they could handle things on their own from here.  But he knew better. Devan was capable of just about anything. But besides that, he was one of the men who had cost Legend his freedom.  He found payback impossible to refuse.  
  
---------  
  


Time: 5:24 PM  
  


Back in town and standing on the end of a busy street, overlooking traffic, Legend contemplated the matter at hand.  So Devan was trying to bring about the destruction of Pioneer 2.  It could be his only priority now.  "Damn, he hasn't given up at all!" Why hadn't he seen it earlier?  Devan was carrying his own brand of justice within his body and he planned on using it.  That had to be it, to follow up with his original intentions; it was going to be something big.  He knew the one place that would serve his purpose.  Destroying it wouldn't literally take the spacecraft out of commission but, in a sense, it would destroy life on it.  "He must be heading to the center of things. Shit..." There was only one 'center of things' on this ship, and that was the Principal's office, the main center of the spacecraft where the leaders of political and law enforcement laid.  Devan planned on destroying social order.  Legend shook his head and ran down the sidewalk, heading for the Guild once more.  Sure, he hated life on this ship, but he wasn't about to let anyone get away with what Devan intended on doing.  Not if he could stop it.

*                    *                  *                  *                  *

Time: 5:41 PM  
  


"Give me the information or I'll beat it out of you." Legend held the man by his collar, pulling him halfway over the counter he was standing behind in the Hunter's Guild.  
  


"I-I told you, sir!  I can't give out information to just any-"  
  


"Still lacking tact like always."  
  


Legend released the man and turned to the side, directing his attention to the familiar voice.  The man, not much older than himself, stood by the entrance to the Guild, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.  He wore a working outfit: pants, shirt, loose tie, and a look of unusual authority.  He shook his head with a smirk.  "Long time no see, huh 'Viper'?"  
  


"Not long enough if you're still calling me that.  So do the police have something on me now?  You always had a way with timing.  If you've got something to tell me, make it quick."  
  


The man shrugged and stood upright, dropping his hands into his pockets.  "All right, I'll get to the point.  But just remember; I'm here as Chris, not as detective Billiard."  
  


"Whatever.  It doesn't matter to me who you want to be at the moment." Legend didn't have time for this.  If the Guild wouldn't give him any information, he had to--  
  


"Devan's already stolen a police car."  
  


"What?!" So he had info after all.  But he didn't expect Devan to make a move so quickly.  He must be running out of time.  
  


Chris nodded, more serious as he continued.  "He's not stupid.  He's been flying low on the static equator, the thin invisible line that all our digital transmissions flow on.  He's using the carrying frequencies to mask his own.  The last reading we got, he was heading north in the Pacific District.  That was about ten minutes ago.  Probably plans on ditching the car and taking to the monotrain system.  I think you know what he plans on doing.  Anyway, if you want to catch him you're going to have to..hey!" He looked up to notice that Legend had already past him by, walking through the electronic doorway and out onto the main street.  Chris followed quickly, stopping just outside the door.  "Hey, where're you going?  I managed to get you a temporary vehicle to use."  
  


Legend still refrained from looking back as he continued forward.  "I've got my own."  
  


Chris shook his head, placing his hand on the back of his neck.  "The guy never changes."

        *              *              *              *              *

Time: 6:18 PM  
  


The doors to the monotrain slid open and passengers hurriedly began to fill its compartments; Devan Mulliour was one of them, filing in anonymously with the crowd and finding a place to stand with a window view of the city.  Running a hand over his shaved head, he watched the mass population in their nightly lives; coming and going, giving and receiving, living and dying in their wasted existences.  It brought him joy in the knowledge that his own sacrifice would insure Darrek Trenting's original ideals.  Finally, he would be able to throw the balance of humanity back on track.  There was no need for any of what was currently happening, no point in colonizing another planet for their own needs.  No, he would end it here and now.  
  


"Nice view, huh?" The voice of a passenger sounded behind him, meshing with the noise of the train moving on its track well above the ground.  
  


Devan held still, not wanting to part with the view offered him.  "It's the same as anywhere else, really."  
  


"I can understand that.  This ship's design didn't leave much to the imagination."  
  


"Yea.." It wasn't exactly what he had meant, but he wasn't about to get into a heated debate in the position he was in.  
  


However, the passenger decided on his own to carry on with the conversation.  "Things are tough. Of course, everyone back home thinks we're living it up here, being part of history.  Heh, they don't know the half of things, you know?  It's not easy here, not easy at all."  
  


"If you don't mind--"  
  


"They think it must be a utopia here.  I mean, the law's got everything under control.  Right, like that's the truth.  Ah well, they do their best."  
  


Devan was getting annoyed now, but he still had to keep himself from causing a scene.  Something was unusual, though.  
  


"So you get what I'm saying?  Sure, we've got low crime here.  But out there, without anyone knowing...there are always those snakes hiding, waiting to strike."  
  


It snapped in his head suddenly.  That feeling of relief had been knocked out of him like a punch to the gut.  He'd been so absorbed in his intentions the entire time that it was almost too much to fathom what had just happened.  He'd been found out.  
  


These thoughts flooded his mind in the few seconds it took him to turn around, all of it seeming to go in slow motion.  But his mind was jolted back to reality as Legend's right fist smashed across his jaw, then the left struck him directly in the face, crushing the back of his head against the glass window.  He brought his right fist in again, jabbing it into Devan's stomach.  Grabbing him by the neck, he kept him on his feet.  
  


"Hope you didn't think you'd get away from me that easily."  
  


"Khh..I knew better than that," Devan uttered with painful words.  "You had me waiting, though."  
  
  


"What?" Devan planted an open palm onto Legend's chest.  To his surprise, it started to hum and emit a growing light.  "Shit!" He jumped back to dodge the shot, hand-springing once in the middle of the aisle in between confused and screaming passengers.  "Get the hell out of here! All of you!" Throwing himself behind a row of seats, pulling his trench coat with him, he dodged a few more shots.  _So that's how he got that shot off earlier.  The freak has implants_.  He was prepared for something like this, wearing his black ranger outfit under his trench coat and extracting a photon handgun.  
  


"Ha, what's the matter, Viper?  Thought I'd be an easy capture?  Think again, hot shot.  As you can tell, I've been upgraded." Devan held his arm up slightly, the skin pulsating due to the machinery working beneath.  "To tell the truth, I was waiting for you.  I wanted to see you die before I wrecked life on this ship."  
  


Legend had the chance to take a shot during his enemy's moment of distraction.  He seized the opportunity, edged out slightly from his protective position, and fired a few shots.  Devan held out his hand as though he planned on catching the photonic bullets.  Instead, they dissipated in the air inches before him, a circular wave of light coming into view momentarily with each shot.  
  


"I'm also equipped with a high-density light barrier," Devan boasted. "Your standard photon shots aren't going to work on me, Legend."  
  


Legend cursed to himself, moving behind the seats once more.  This wasn't going to be as easy as he'd hoped.  As Devan spoke, he began modifying the settings of his blaster.  If standard shots proved ineffective, then...  
  


"So what are you doing now?  Do you think you have something powerful enough to actually affect me?  I thought you had more brainpower than that.  Even if you could hurt me, you'd most likely set off my explosive friend inside, taking this train and its passengers along for the ride.  Huh." Devan smirked, pleased with the control he now had over the situation.  "Feel free to take your best shot, though."  He was sure to call Legend's bluff.  
  


_That ought to do it_.  Legend swung out from his hiding spot, standing in the middle of the aisle in full view.  He held his blaster tight in his hands and took careful aim as the weapon began to hum with a slowly increasing volume.  
  


"Come on, that's right.  Shoot me.  Send us all straight to Hell!"  
  


"You're the only one going to Hell, bastard!!!" He pulled the trigger and a ball of white energy formed in front of the barrel of his gun, swirling and growing in seconds, then propelling itself forward into a thick beam of pure photonic energy.  Legend grit his teeth as his muscles tightened, his palms squeezing the handle of the blaster with as much force as possible.  The shot hit the startled Devan square in the chest, throwing him against the back of the train cart and dropping him to the ground.  The force of the shot also threw Legend off his feet, landing him in a seated position on the ground.  
  


Legend got to his feet and waited for Devan to stand.  The man, his body smoking from the impact, did so, yelling out his rage.  "You lunatic!  You might have killed us all!"  
  


"Too bad," Legend bitterly retorted as he threw his gun to the side.  He had managed to destroy Devan's light shield by overloading the photonic discharge level in his blaster, but in doing so it rendered the gun useless afterwards.  
  


"I underestimated you.  Guess you're still not too keen on life, even after all this time.  Anyway..." Devan glared at his enemy, then swung around and headed down the other carts to the rear section of the train.  
  


Legend, pushing his way through panicking civilians and taking cover from blasts sent his way, followed his target, stopping at the entryway to the final cart where Devan stood at the end next to the opened door.  Wind whipped through the room as they faced each other.  Devan smirked and raised his arm to fire another shot and Legend instinctively stepped to the side in the section between the two adjoining carts to move from its path.  As he pulled himself back, he caught a glimpse of Devan leaping through the door and onto the metallic track moving swiftly beneath them.  He ran to the door, watching as Devan rolled along, stopped in place, and stood to his feet.  "Son of a..." Without much thought, he followed Devan's example and leapt from the train.

*                    *                  *                  *                  *

"What's up with these gung-ho types, anyway?  Always have to play the lone hero."  
  


Chris shook his head and smirked at his partner's remark.  "I guess you just have to know the guy." His view remained on the small visual monitor installed in the middle of their dashboard as his partner weaved the police-sanctioned vehicle in between buildings.  It was quite a view, but nothing unexpected.  Chris knew the type of stuff Legend was capable of and the stunts he'd pull at the possible cost of his own life.  No, this was nothing new at all.  It was just like back then..  
  


"Anyway, what do you plan to do next?"  
  


The detective rubbed his chin in thought as he watched the escapee, Devan, leap from the monotrain's track to smash through the window of a high rise, still a few stories up.  Legend did the same, only making his entrance into a neighboring building.  "Let's just keep watching for now."  
  


"What, are you serious?  Those two are going to tear apart anything in their way."  
  


"Don't worry.  It'll be easier this way, trust me."  
  


Chris' partner cleared his throat and shook his head.  "I give up.  I can't ever figure out what's going on in that mind of yours."  
  


The undaunted officer narrowed his eyes, his gaze never parting from the monitor's screen.  "Heh.."  
  
  


          *                  *                  *                  *                  *

  
  


The young man rolled along the pavement and slammed into a building wall, propelled by Devan's cybernetic arm, who then stepped into the vehicle and switched it to manual control.  He had to hurry, what with his pursuer about to close in on him once more.  But now he had transportation again; it blew his cover and forced him into the light of the police tracking system, but it didn't matter now.  If the law units had planned to make a move on him, they would have done so by now.  He had control over them and he knew it.  With the newfound knowledge that their target could trigger his own detonation device whenever he pleased, it kept enough distance between them.

That's where Legend undoubtedly fell in to place.  He was the only one who could possibly get close enough to do anything significant.  As much as he hated to admit that, it held true enough.  Devan wanted to see Legend's face as he brought the ship's progression to a halt; he wanted to have the satisfaction of seeing his enemy's defeated expression just before he died.  Unfortunately, it looked as though escape was inevitable at this point.  It was disappointing, really.  He wanted Legend to be there up until the very end.  However, somewhere in the back of his mind he had a feeling he'd regret that wish...  
  


As soon as Devan's newfound hovercar lifted and accelerated, Legend came smashing through the window of the building overhead.  His arms and legs tucked in to protect his body as shards of glass shimmered and fell around him, outstretching again just before landing forcefully onto the hood of the moving car.  In a moment of surprise, Devan swerved the vehicle to the left and ascended higher, pushing directly into active traffic and forcing others out of his way.  The rough wind pushed against Legend as his grasp held firmly into the top section of the hood.  He kept his head pressed against the metal as his body was jostled around by the frantic driving.  At one point, he felt the heat from a passing car that had barreled out of the way of a head on collision just in time.  
  


_You bastard.  I'm not letting you get away from me.  You'll never get away_.  Legend gritted his teeth and pushed his head up, the harsh wind whipping his hair forward.  He stared Devan directly in the face now, who returned it with a sick grin of his own, fingers tightening around the control handles.  Slowly, controlling his actions, Legend drew back his arm.  He continued to stare Devan in the face with a look of unsympathetic hatred.  At that moment he was an automaton, fueled by the sole desire of winning this "competition" and getting what he wanted: simple revenge.  
  


Legend's fist swung forward, pounding his knuckles onto the durable glass frame with as much strength as he could afford.  The impact webbed the glass with cracks, and he drew his arm back again.  Devan's frustration grew and he continued to raise their flight altitude.  The second punch succeeded in shattering the windshield and passing through, only to be caught into Devan's open palm.  
  


"What?" Legend had pushed through, but now he was in a bad situation.  The hand grabbing his fist began to crush it, with extra strength unfairly added by Devan's implants.  
  


"I don't think you'll be shooting any more of your guns after this, Legend," Devan remarked with a sneer.  He wanted to handicap his opponent even more than he already was.  
  


"Huh, you think so?" With his free hand, Legend extracted a circular device with jagged clutches on the ends.  He held the object up for Devan to see and nodded to it.  "Timed mine." Devan watched in horror as he slapped it onto the hood, the clutches digging sturdily into the metal construction.  He quickly set the timer.  "We've got five minutes to live."  
  


In anger, Devan released his hold on the hunter and quickly set the vehicle to auto-navigate, proceeding to kick the driver's door from its hinges.  He took hold onto the roof of the car and pulled himself out and on top of it.  
  


Legend yelled and tackled him as soon as he had the chance, throwing each of them across the top of the car and bouncing off the rear section.  They slid as the car moved beneath, hanging each of them off opposite sides.  They stared at each other again, each guessing the other's next move.  But Legend couldn't have guessed what Devan would do next.  He watched as the convict raised his feet to the car and pushed off.  He floated backwards through the air in a suicide jump and was suddenly pulled off course as he caught hold of a car passing by.  
  


"Goddamnit!" Legend furiously pulled himself into the car, took hold of the controls, and veered it toward Devan in pursuit.  He was going to get his revenge, no matter what the cost.  Nothing was getting in his way now; not the law, not the danger of the situation, and not even the fact that he had less than three minutes left before the car erupted into a fireball.

The car sped up, pushed nearly to its maximum speed.  Two minutes and forty-three seconds remained on the time bomb Legend had set.  Somehow, he had to catch up to Devan and ditch the vehicle as soon as possible.  It was impossible to shut off the explosive at this point; all he could do was find a place to freely let it go.  
  


"This isn't going to be easy.." Devan hadn't hesitated to keep moving, dropping from the side of the hovercar he had grabbed a hold of, ricocheting from the roof of another, and crashing into yet another building multiple stories up.  "The guy's a friggin' monkey."  
  
_Two minutes and twelve seconds_.  
  


Time was running out in every way.  Not only did Legend have to think about the small box of death embedded in the hood of the car he currently occupied, but all this time Devan had been getting closer to the Principal's office.  They were only a few miles away from the location now.  
  


Legend swung the car around in the air and positioned it in front of the building that his target had entered.  Grabbing for the internal car phone, he dialed a specific number and yelled into the unit.  "Give me full control of vehicle 5CS438, now!" He quickly brought his right hand down, moving it from the main control stick to another lever that controlled vertical hovering movement.  All normal passenger vehicles had more complicated abilities available, but without main law enforcement headquarters electronically activating them, they served no use to standard civilians.  The lever hissed and clanked out of its locked position and Legend immediately dropped his altitude in a near free fall, simultaneously using another panel for horizontal control as he dodged cars below him.  
  
_One minute and twenty-four seconds_.  
  


Devan already had a head start, weaving back and forth down the stairway of the large edifice, bringing himself closer to the street level below.  Thirteenth floor, twelfth floor, eleventh floor; Legend was dropping at neck break speed, determined to intercept Devan before he had a chance to exit out into the alleys, where he'd have a difficult time following.  
  
_Twenty-one seconds_.  
  


Fourth floor, third floor, second floor.  Legend slammed on the brakes, pulling up harshly on the lever.  The vehicle came to an abrupt and painful stop in front of the second floor of the building, miscellaneous parts falling off from beneath due to the extreme stress the car was being put through.  "Where is he?!" Staring frantically through the broken windshield and the glass front of the building, into the stairwell that Devan was using, Legend tried to catch sight of him.  
  
_Nine seconds_.  
  


Where was he?!  He couldn't have gone any other way.  
  
_Eight seconds_.  
  


"Damn, I must've passed him."  
  
_Seven seconds_.  
  


Or maybe he had already gotten to ground level?  He couldn't move that--  
  
_Six seconds_.  
  


Suddenly, from the upper stairway, Devan came into view as he ran down to the second floor.  Legend grinned.  "There you are."  
  
_Five_.  
  


Devan froze halfway down the stairs, staring out the window in a few seconds of surprise.  
  
_Four_.  
  


"Shove this up your ass, punk!" Legend smashed his foot across the acceleration lever, forcibly breaking and bearing it into a forward position.  
  
_Three_.  
  


From two stories up, Legend leapt from the side of the car, which had been missing its driver's side door since their earlier scuffle.  
  
_Two_.  
  


He was halfway to the ground now.  Legend knew how to land as safe as possible, but that's not what worried him in that split second.  
  
_One_.  
  


The building swallowed the car as it drove through the glass and into the stairwell, exploding in a production of flames and debris that altered the position of Legend's body from overhead as he fell.  He felt his descent speed increase, pushed down by the blast, as he was forced into a more hazardous posture. _Damn..._  
  


He couldn't recall exactly what happened during the impact, but his left arm sure did hurt like hell.  It was the pain that almost forced him unconscious, but also the realization of it that kept him awake.  In any case, it was enough for him to roll against the building as a large chunk of the lower part of the structure crashed down from above.  In light of a more wise decision, he stood and glared up at the building, which was burning on the outside.  Oh well. Rescue crews would come along soon enough to distinguish the flames.  Whatever it took, it was worth it as long as he won.  
  


The sound of a running engine came from around the side of the building and Legend turned his attention in its direction.  Before he could even fully conceive the situation, the hovercycle flew by him with Devan as its driver. He turned again and felt something wrap around his neck, something painful.  
  


"A photon whip?!" Legend was jerked from his feet, finding himself getting dragged behind the hovercycle that Devan manned with one arm; the other was held back, the bluish-white whip extending from his mechanical arm, which had its artificial flesh torn into ragged pieces by the previous explosion.  
  


Devan laughed as they sped along.  "That was funny!  That was pretty damn funny back there!  Now I'm taking you along for the ride.  Hope you enjoy."  
  


Legend slid along the ground, rising up and slamming down onto it every few moments.  He brought his hands to the photonic collar, singing his palms and neck as he struggled.  He grit his teeth. He was dirty, bloody, and one eye had been forced shut.  But from what he could see, they were nearing the main entry to the Principal's office.  As they did so, Devan careened the bike up the stairs to the main lobby doors, pushing through the outside guards and crashing through the glass front.  He brought the cycle to a sideways stop, flinging Legend across the room and sending him rolling sideways along the floor before dematerializing his technological whip.  "Here's our stop."  
  


Legend sat up against the far glass wall, watching as the normal working civilians fled in complete terror.  He waited until everyone was out of sight.  He knew it would take too long before more guards would arrive on the scene.  "I'm going to stop you.." He coughed.  
  


"Huh." Devan dropped the cycle onto its side.  "And how're you going to do that? You can hardly walk now.  I brought you here for a special reason.  Once I destroy your nervous system and render you unable to move, you'll be able to enjoy having this building, the core of society, fall on top of you.  All I have to do is reach the top and it's all over.  It's my farewell present, after all."  
  


Legend smirked painfully, blood running down the left side of his mouth and chin.  "You forgot the meaning of my codename, didn't you?  Heh...you've already been bitten.." Legend struck his right arm out, a pointed projectile soaring at his enemy.  Devan reacted quickly, bringing his ravaged arm upward to defend.  He felt no pain as the triangular knife plunged into his mixture of flesh and bionics.  
  


"Really, that was pretty pathetic.  Guess you've gotten delusional since then." After Devan's words, the smooth sides of the knife fell open, bending at the edges and grabbing hold of the arm.  "What?!" A static electrical current emitted from the knife, sending its shock through its victim's body.  Devan yelled as Legend quietly picked himself up and tried to remain standing.  Soon, the shock subsided and Devan laughed again, his eyes rolling awkwardly with a newfound insane madness.  "Idiot!" He pulled the knife from his arm and threw it to the side in disgust.  "Did you think you'd win like that?  Did you really?!"  
  


Legend was still grinning wearily, leaning forward slightly as he resisted the pain that racked his body.  "No, not really."  
  


Devan smirked, triggering his photon whip once again...except nothing happened.  "What..what did you do?!"  
  


"Do you really... _really_ want to know?"  
  


"Tell me!!!"  
  


"Your arm isn't working too well now, is it?  I guess that means I also disabled the circuitry that bypassed our control over your detonation mechanism.  Let's find out." Legend's right arm rose, holding some sort of trigger device.  "When you get to Hell, tell Darrek that Viper sent you."  
  


"You piece of--!!"  
  


There was no hesitation, no thought otherwise as Legend pressed the trigger.  In that instant, his senses felt numb, his perception cloudy.  He wondered how close to the blast he had been.  But it didn't matter.  As his body was projected in reverse, it didn't matter.  As glass shattered around him and he flew out into the night, it didn't matter.  As he lay there on the steps of the building, cold and released from the world around him, it didn't matter; none of it did.  He had gotten the revenge he so desired, and that was enough...right?  It had to be.  There was nothing else but that left, so what did he live for now?  His dreary eyes received no answer from the star-filled space that lingered above, his deathly grin made nothing but a silent statement to the night.  Perhaps it was time to die.

                    *                  *                  *                  *                  *

Time: 12:34 AM  
  


"Thousands of meseta worth in property damage, both business and residential, eight civilians injured, three traffic accidents caused, twenty-eight miscellaneous laws broken, and the list goes on.  Jesus, what a night."  
  


Detective Chris Billiard leaned back in his noisy seat behind his desk, sighing with a grin and loosening his tie.  He closed the manila folder with the cluttered report strewn inside.  "I wonder how I'll be fixing your mess this time, pal."  
  


A voice came from outside his office; the voice of a woman.  "You know you have to, though.  It's your job, after all."  
  


"Yea, I know." Chris sat forward, his folded hands resting under his chin as he stared at the file, covered in the soft glow of the twentieth century-style lamp that sat at the left corner of his desk.  "I know..."

          *                  *                  *                  *                  *

Self Titled: He Awoke to an Uncertain Future 

Time: Unknown  
  
Eyes open...  
  
_Is this reality?_  
  
Breath.  Breath means life...  
  
Building...  
  
_Hospital...I'm here again..._  
  
The bed.  Healing.  Pain...  
  
_The arm is bandaged.  It won't move..._  
  
Light shines from the window.  An indication of day...  
  
_Reality...this must be real..._  
  
A bed of warmth and pain...  
  
The woman.  Red hair...an image of the mind...  
  
"I see..."  
  
Silence.  Tired and unrelenting...and everlasting...  
  
Memories.  Not yet cast away...or not yet experienced...dreadful things...  
  
"...so I'll be the last one sent to Hell."  
  
(end of episode one)****


End file.
